


Partners

by Crowsister



Series: Excalibur [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Gen, Origin Story, Tabletop Adventures - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 11:11:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8443597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crowsister/pseuds/Crowsister
Summary: In which a bond between a girl and her Tauros is forged





	

Her blonde hair bounced in pigtails as she followed her father into the barn, staying a step or two behind him to stay out from being underfoot. She was four.

Her father grumbled, accent thick with his anxiety, “Several days early! This better be a device malfunction, I will-Carolyn! What are you doing here?”

“I wanna see the baby.” She spread her arms wide, laughing. “I’m not gonna be the youngest on the ranch anymore, papa!”

He laughed. “Alright. Stay behind me.”

Carolyn followed, aqua eyes brightly lit by the barn’s hanging ceiling lights as she peaked out from behind her father’s massive leg. It was hard to see, as his leg was as wide as she was, but she could see the egg cracking open in its bed of hay.

She ran forward, giggling as she avoided her father’s hands. She ignored the stern Tauroses with their black eyes glaring into her, the snorting that was slowly echoing from every stall. She plopped onto the hay, watching the egg shell fall piece by piece and a little brown blob of life yelped into the air.

“Pa! Pa! He needs food.” She crawled forward, taking a towel from nearby and wrapping it around the baby Tauros. She looked over at her still shock father. “What?”

“…nothing, little one.” He smiled, tears catching the light in in the barn. “Nothing.”

* * *

“C’mon, Gorgeous!” Carolyn giggled, slowly putting down the small baby runt Tauros. His mane was coming in by the day around his neck and his horns were a good four inches now, marking him as four days old and would continue to do so until he was twenty days old and fully grown.

His little legs wiggled as weight was put down, Gorgeous giving a small cry and looking up at her. “Taur!”

“You can do it! Pa says you’re bein’ a late bloomer with walking, but I believe in ya!” Carolyn gave him a huge smile with her splotchy teeth. “I’m gonna let go now, okay?”

Gorgeous closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling a moment. The legs stopped wiggling as his determination seemed to set in. He opened his eyes, giving a short nod. “Ros!”

“Great!” Carolyn let go, stepping back.

Gorgeous’s knees shook for a bit, but he looked at her and she gave him another smile and a thumbs up and his legs settled.

She clapped. “Yes! I knew you could do it!” She took a few steps back, opening up her arms. “C’mon! Come and get me!”

Gorgeous slowly took a step. He blinked, looking down at his hoof. He snorted, taking several more steps and figuring out how to turn. Carolyn stood, watching her and feeling her enthusiasm die as he continued to figure things out…without her. She put her arms down, slowly turning around.

“Tauros!”

She was bowled over and pinned, huffing and laughing as Gorgeous rolled his body off of her.

“You silly lil bull!” She laughed, hugging him. “You get mad I was leavin’?”

* * *

“It’s a big day! I’m so proud, my big girl is going off on her own!” Riva de Buchtjager took pictures from every angle.

Carolyn rubbed her foot against the floor sheepishly. “I’m not that big, I’m ten. I’m only five feet and four inches tall.”

“I went on my adventure at eleven,” Riva tittered, fixing Carolyn’s cap on her head. “And you’ll grow a bit more by the time you’re done.”

“Alola is weird and we all know it.” Carolyn stuck out her tongue.

Riva ignored her. “Gimme a hug, Carolyn, I’m so proud! Your father will drop you off at Professor Rowen to get your starter as soon as he’s done with-”

Her father was shouting. “Gorgeous! Get back here, you-”

Carolyn’s eyes lit up and she laughed, stepping away from her mother and letting Gorgeous sweep her onto his back with a carefully practiced buck from the head. “Come to see me off, Gorgeous?” She asked, weaving her fingers into the Tauros’s mane.

She got a snort in reply: a snort she’d learn to mean that he was irritated about whatever she said. He was still trotting off with her, having slowed down to pick her up and maintaining that speed. She looked and saw he was heading towards the exit.

“C’mon, Gorgeous, you know we’ll both get in trouble. I’m supposed to leave today to get my-”

“Ros!” He stopped, bucking her off. She landed with a yelp, glaring up at him.

“What’s gotten into you-”

Gorgeous had his snout right in her face, his forehead almost touching hers. He had never loomed over her like this.

“Wait a minute,” she exhaled, “you’re jealous…that you’re not my starter.”

“Tauros.” He lightly butted her head, being incredibly gentle.

Carolyn started crying. “I don’t know if they’ll let us-”

“You will never know unless you try, sunshine,” Carl replied. Carolyn looked over — she must not have noticed her parents catching up to them. “My starter was a Tauros. We have Uncle Joey and his Raticates. The Jagers are a proud line of those who stride against the grain.”

“And you’ll hear no complaints from me, with you not choosing a water type and having Bay in you,” Riva chuckled, gently helping Carolyn up and dusting her off. “I’ve had enough water in my life, thank you very much.”

“But-”

“It is a big world out there,” Carl replied, putting his hand on Carolyn’s shoulder. “Who better to meet it with than with a friend?”

“Taur,” Gorgeous added, gently nudging his snout against her back.

Carolyn grinned, wiping the tears out of her face. She spun around, grasping Gorgeous by the horns. “Gorgeous, you wanna be my starter Pokemon?”

“ROS!” Gorgeous tackled her, bowling her over as was their tradition. She laughed as Gorgeous nuzzled into her neck.

* * *

They had left their home in Solaceon Town, Carolyn in the seat of a saddle fitted and customized for Gorgeous. They had trained on Route 209: the two ate, slept, and sweat together for a solid month out in the wilderness before entering Hearthome City where the nearest gym was.

Carolyn had focused upon teaching techniques she had seen her own father use against cocky trainers, focusing on the defensive and outlasting them. But she also had a gift from her mother: Double Team.

“You’ll never be alone, sunshine,” her mother had laughed as she plugged the TM into Gorgeous’s Pokeball. “You’ll have a whole herd with you. This is the move I used to defeat your father, to confuse him and his Hardt. I know you’ll use it well.”

Carolyn caught a few new team members: a Vulpix (Linda) and a Roselia (Metrius). Both worked hard, but Gorgeous still managed to be the strongest by sheer willpower. Carolyn felt ready by the time she made her way into Hearthome, Gorgeous at her side. He liked being outside of his ball as much as possible, protective of his partner.

She walked through, shoulders held high towards the setting sun.

“Oh, mon dieu! Child, where have you been sleeping, the forest?” A woman’s voice rattled her.

Gorgeous snorted a warning, tails flicking, but eased as Carolyn put her small hand on his side. A tall woman dressed in purple was approaching them rapidly, looking concerned.

“I have been sleepin’ in the forest,” Carolyn answered, looking up at the woman. “I had to train before I registered for the Pokemon league and challenged this city’s gym leader.”

“That does not mean we neglect personal hygiene, non! To the Pokémon Center with you, child, mon dieu, when was the last time you ate anything but berries?” The woman went to intrude on Carolyn’s personal space, but only stopped when Gorgeous stomped his hoof loudly against the paved stone. “Tell your Tauros that I am not a threat, I am the Gym Leader of Hearthome and I will not be bullied by an overgrown steak!”

“I’d like to see proof of that before I trust a stranger, ma’am.”

The woman gave a huffy sigh. She distinctly reminded Carolyn of her third aunt, a prissy woman from the Kalos branch of the Jager family who indulged in Glameows. The woman took out her wallet from a purse and it had an official Sinnoh League Identification card labeling her as Fantina, the gym leader of Hearthome. Carolyn gave a nod, gently stroking Gorgeous’s head and whispering words of reassurances. Gorgeous’s tails stopped flicking behind him.

“Good. Now, let’s get you to the Pokémon Center and taken care of.”

* * *

“Thank you for paying for everything, Miss Fantina.”

“Just Fantina! We are peers in Pokémon training, non?”

“Yeah, but I’m ten and you’re like…twenty.”

“Twenty!” Fantina laughed. “Bless you, fillette!”

They sat down in the lobby of the Pokémon Center, Gorgeous laying next to Carolyn’s chair and letting himself relax as Carolyn took a brush over his fur. Fantina watched with keen interest.

“Why do you wish to take on the Sinnoh League, Miss Carolyn?”

Carolyn paused, then shrugged. “That’s what kids my age do.”

“You don’t feel a natural compulsion for battling?”

“I like working with Gorgeous and my team and getting better at stuff. Haven’t really battled yet in y’know traditional sense…scare off predators, that sort of thing.”

“I see.” Fantina tipped her head to the left as Carolyn continued brushing out the dirt from Gorgeous’s mane. “You have a remarkable bond with your Tauros.”

“Yeah. We’re buds.”

“Buds?”

“Like…friends. We watch out for each other and keep each other company.”

“I see…”

“Why bring it up?”

“The bond, it is obvious to me. Tauros are usually…wild.”

Fantina raised an eyebrow as Carolyn sent her a grin over her shoulder. “I’m just a little wild too, Miss Fantina. We get along that way.”

“I know the feeling. I specialize in Ghost type Pokémon.” Fantina adjusted her legs, swapping the crossed position she had to lean more towards Carolyn. “I have been judged in very much the same way others will judge you, fillette.”

“What, people get all shivers cuz you use Ghost types?”

“The Ghost types, the accent, my charms…all paint a rather eccentric picture, non?”

“Sure, I guess.” Carolyn shrugged, taking out a comb from her bag. She gently started combing Gorgeous’s mane. “So…you’re sayin’ people are gonna judge me like that?”

“That is the way of people. To judge.”

“I think that’s rather silly of ‘em, Miss Fantina. I’ve done seen about five thousand Tauros from my pa’s ranch, but none of them are like Gorgeous.”

“So you do not look down on me for my accent and specialization?”

“Pa always said that if you’re happy, what somebody else thinks doesn’t matter.” Carolyn paused, starting to gesture with the comb. “Sure, it hurts when others make fun of you cuz you’re different, but I don’t think bein’ different hurts nobody none.”

Carolyn jumped when Fantina began to laugh and laugh loudly, flushing as she thought she said something wrong or stupid. Memories of classrooms suddenly feeling too small, too crowded, flashed back to her.

“Miss Carolyn, you are a refreshingly…how do you say, ah!” She clapped her hands together. “Open-minded! An open-minded trainer,” Fantina chuckled. “Ah, this is why I adore talking to young trainers! You are all so grand, all in your own ways. It is not too late for you, is it?”

“Nah, s’only five o’clock. Why?”

“I would like to give you a gift-”

“Miss Fantina, I-”

“Tut-tut-tut! First rule of being a traveler is when someone wants to give you something for free, you take it!” Fantina stood with a flare, throwing one of the Dusk Balls from her sash up. A Duskull materialized from the red flare, tilting its head back and forth curiously. “I would like to have my petit ami show your Gorgeous a move!”

“Um…sure. Gorgeous, you up for it?”

“Tauros!” Gorgeous gave a nod.

“Let’s go for it then.”

* * *

“This is a gym battle between Fantina of the Hearthome Gym, being challenged by Carolyn de Buchtjager of Solaceon Town! Three Pokémon per team! The trainer with the last Pokémon standing wins!”

Carolyn stood in her position, breathing steadily as she stared across at Fantina across the battlefield. Fantina had a smile on her face as she sent out her first: the Duskull from last night.

Carolyn sent out Metrius, the male Roselia bowing and preparing to follow orders. Metrius fell, but not before taking out the Duskull. Linda, the timid little Vulpix, fell before she could finish off Fantina’s Mismagius. Fantina’s last Pokémon on her team. Carolyn had to curl her toes in her shoes to stop her legs from shaking, taking the energy and putting it elsewhere.

“You are doing good, Miss Carolyn! Very good for your first gym battle!” Fantina cheered from across the way.

“Th-thanks, Miss Fantina,” she sputtered.

“Send out your Gorgeous! I cannot wait to see the bond between you and your bud materialized in battle, like a beautiful rose!”

The mention of Gorgeous washed through Carolyn like a douse in the rain. She set her jaw, nodding. Carolyn released Gorgeous, squaring her legs with her shoulders like she’d seen her pa do countless of times over to mimic his Tauros.

“Gorgeous, hold.”

Gorgeous snorted, waiting for commands and stomping his hoof into the floor and creating a loud echoed clamp-clamp-clamp noise throughout the room.

Fantina clapped her hands together, giving commands in Kalosian. The Haunter seeped into the floor, the room growing colder.

Carolyn stomped her foot against the floor, barking, “Gorgeous, herd up and stomp!”

Copies of Gorgeous materialized in the room, all clomping their hooves downwards and the sound echoed, an ugly sound of a unified small army. The Mismagius slowly rose from the floor, disoriented. It looked from Fantina to Gorgeous and his copies as the stomping continued. Carolyn was grinning from ear to ear.

She stomped three times in quick succession and the Gorgeuses surged forward, engulfed in a dark red energy of Pursuit.

The Mismagius was erased. Fantina pulled it back into the Pokeball, looking impressed as Gorgeous’s copies folded back into him.

“Clever! Very clever!” Fantina clapped, walking to the battlefield’s center. Carolyn took her lead, sheepishly walking forward and putting a hand on Tauros’s side. “You used the room itself to disconnect me from my Madam! How did you know Gorgeous could hear your over his own noise, Miss Carolyn, I’m dying to know!”

Carolyn sheepishly laughed. “Tauros run around in herds all the time, they’re all noise. They got used to being able to hearing other noises outside of their own footsteps so…I trained Gorgeous to hear for my footsteps during a battle like this and to know what to do.”

“Oh!” Fantina picked her up, spinning Carolyn around. “That’s very smart of you! I must know that for the future, oui!” She put Carolyn down back besides Gorgeous, Carolyn so dizzy that she had to lean against him. “Now, as a winner in your challenge, you get the Relic Badge!”

* * *

“This is a challenge between Maylene, gym leader of Veilstone City, and Carolyn de Buchtjager of Solaceon Town! Each get three Pokémon! Whoever owns the last Pokémon standing will be the victor! Ready?”

“I’m ready!” Maylene chirped, bouncing from foot to foot and juggling her Quick Ball back and forth from her hands.

Carolyn gave a sharp nod, popping her neck and rolling her shoulders back. “I’m ready. May the best trainer win.”

“Yeah! That’s the spirit! C’mon out, Tai!” Maylene tossed up the ball and karate chopped it into the field. A Meditite popped from the ball, psychically tossing the ball back to its trainer and staring straight into Carolyn’s eyes.

She smirked. With a casual wave and a bow, she released Metrius, the two of them moving in sync as they straightened. She had Metrius casually deal with the Meditite with a combination of Growth, Stun Spore, and Poison Sting. The Roselia’s natural inclination to dance about his opponent, as much as he could, was opportune for dealing with the Machop as much as possible after the Meditite fell. Carolyn returned Metrius, kissing the ball as she let loose Linda.

Her eyes widened as the Machop began to glow and expand. She barked, “Linda, double team! Circle and fire spin.”

The Vulpix multiplied, all of them running-

-but the newly evolved Machoke snarled and slapped several of them aside. Carolyn faltered, unsure of the procedure from here and that’s all the Machoke needed. It threw itself onto the Vulpixes and Carolyn began screaming as she started to see red from under it. Maylene called the match over and things started to blur.

Carolyn was lead from the Gym to the Pokémon Center, a teary Maylene at her side and apologizing enough to drown herself.

Carolyn remembered numbly reassuring her it’d be fine, that Linda would be fine.

Linda was not fine. It was a small likelihood of tragedies that could’ve happened to Carolyn: Linda was crippled from a fractured spine. Newly evolved Fighting types lacked self control in terms of their own strength and there was only so much damage the healing machine could heal, especially with a vertebrae or five pounded into dust. The healing machine was regenerative — it could not make something from nothing. Linda would never be able to walk on her own again. It was lucky that Linda was even alive.

Carolyn was left alone in her room in the Pokémon Center and she was silent. She slowly let out Gorgeous and started sobbing into his mane, clutching into it until she fell asleep.

* * *

“Maylene.”

Maylene jumped, shivers running down her back hearing Carolyn’s voice. It was no wonder why Fantina liked the child — Carolyn was just wild enough and just off enough from everyone else her age that she was a terrifying presence. “Carolyn! Oh my Arceus, are you-”

“I want a rematch. One on one. I win, I get the badge.” She popped the knuckles of her fists. “I lose, I pay whatever.”

“I-” Maylene stopped herself. “…okay.”

The two moved from the entry hall of the gym to the battlefield. Maylene let out her Lucario and blinked as Carolyn released a Tauros from a Great Ball. “You know that Normal-”

“Shut up and fight,” Carolyn barked. She clenched her fists, her Tauros stomping his hoof at the same time she stomped her leg against the floor. “I know what I’m doing! Gorgeous, stampede.”

Maylene’s eyes widened as Gorgeous multiplied just as Linda had, the twenty solid Tauroses drowning her Lucario.  
It was over in the blink of an eye.

* * *

Carl’s eyes widened as he spotted a familiar figure galloping on a Tauros along Route 210. His daughter rushed to him, hugging him and sobbing into his chest. He gently picked her up, her Tauros following behind him as he brought her into the house.

* * *

Years passed. Carolyn quit the competitive battling scene and picked up Pokémon photography. She gave up Metrius and Linda to her mother. She traveled with Gorgeous and only Gorgeous, the two inseparable as the day Gorgeous hatched from the egg. He was with her through schooling, through college, through the meetings and conversations with people who would leave marks on her life forever: primarily Ivan Petrovich with his unending determination and trust.

She sighed, settling into position and softly brushing her hair from her face. “We can stop here for a bit. It’s a nice view, eh, Gorgeous?”

“Ros,” he snorted, settling down. She sat next to him, leaning back against him.

“Sure, the Driftveil Bridge was out. But we look forward to when we can leave society, huh buddy?”

Gorgeous nodded, nudging her shoulder. “Taur.”

“Yeah…it’s been a few years, hasn’t it?”

“Tauros?”

“Linda…she never deserved that.” She sighed and she got a soft kick to the side. “Nah, I ain’t gonna do the whole pity party blame game. Ain’t worth it, don’t solve anythin’. I got all that out of my system. I’m just…reflecting.”

He grunted and she hummed back, closing her eyes a moment and just letting herself take in the noise from the rushing river beside them.

She put her camera into its waterproof bag, looking out on the river. “Wonder what kind of critters we’ll find ‘round here…looks like it’ll rain tomorrow. That’ll be a good backdrop: rainy-dewy forest…if anythin’ will be out ‘n about.”

Gorgeous gave an amused snort, flicking his tails and brandishing his horns into the air with a proud flick of his head. “Tauros!”

“Gorgeous, we are not going to scare them out of their homes. If shit happens, it happens.”

Gorgeous snorted again. He wasn’t angry, just disappointed.

It wasn’t unexpected — since Linda’s accident, he’d seen her mellow herself out. Gorgeous was just biding his time until she realized she had a bit more wild tenacity to her than she’d give herself credit for.

He watched her as she got up, Carolyn going to get the small collapsible tent from his saddle bags to set up for the night.

* * *

The next morning, Gorgeous woke to a sharp scream. His eyes flicked open. The tent ripped, sudden and with ease. A Liepard with its claws inside Carolyn’s stomach and chest, licking its lips and exuding smug superiority like a thick blanket.

Gorgeous charged. He tackled the Liepard off of Carolyn, quickly leaning down so she could weakly help him pull her to lay across the saddle on his back. He sprinted as it began to rain, the cold water washing over both Carolyn and himself like a baptismal shower.

* * *

Carolyn woke in the hospital, Gorgeous’s head curled across one of her legs and the numbness bringing her to consciousness. She stared, tears welling.

“You saved me.”

Gorgeous stirred, exhaustedly turning his head to look at her. He snorted softly, like she’d said something ridiculous.

“You did save me…”

“Ros.” He nudged his head against her hip and she slowly reached for it, finding that difficult with the bandages.

She stroked his snout, smiling as she was slowly falling unconscious again. “Thank…you…”

* * *

He’d been in his Pokeball an unusual amount of time since Carolyn had been released from the hospital with a clean bill of health. The cuts from the Liepard were thankfully not as deep as they could’ve been. He still had a cat to skin, regardless.

When he was released, Carolyn was unusually smiley. He tilted his head to the left. “Taur?”

She moved her bangs aside. On her skin, there were three dots across her forehead — three to match him.

“We match now,” she chuckled, putting her forehead to his gently.


End file.
